An open collection of baseball's little-known records and curiosities.

"He would have been among the league leaders in batting average for a majority of the season had he had enough plate appearances." -- 2008 St. Louis Cardinals Media Guide about non-roster invitee Mark Johnson

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Getting Hit Hard in 2009

What do Trevor Cahill and Jeff Suppan have in common? They are the only two pitchers qualified for the ERA title (1 IP per team game) who have allowed opponents to slug .500 or more this season. Suppan sits at .512 while Cahill is at .505. Suppan will shortly fall off the qualified list, as he is currently injured and hasn't pitched since July 27. His fellow Brewer, Braden Looper, is poised to take his place on the list as he has allowed opponents to slug .499 this year. Jeremy Guthrie (.499), Armando Galarraga (.494), and Jamie Moyer (.491) are also nearby.

Since 1954, forty-four qualified pitchers have allowed opponents to slug .500 over a season. Twenty have cracked the .520 plateau:

The abbreviated 1994 season and Jose Lima are both well-represented. Pitchers just didn't have as much time to a) drop their slugging percentage to something more respectable or b) get replaced before reaching the usual 162 innings to qualify. The other seven seasons all took place this decade, which makes sense as slugging percentages league-wide have reached new heights. Here's the .500+ opponent slugging allowed list prior to 1994:

A high slugging percentage allowed is fueling Jeff Suppan's run at another distinction. He likely will not reach the required 162 innings, but if the season ended today he would be only the ninth qualifying pitcher to allow an OPS of .900 or higher. The current list of eight is the highest slugging allowed list jumbled a bit: